Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (GLDD) Competitors

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD) and Argan (NYSE:AGX) are both construction companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their media sentiment, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, earnings, dividends and risk.

Does the media refer more to GLDD or AGX?

In the previous week, Argan had 7 more articles in the media than Great Lakes Dredge & Dock. MarketBeat recorded 13 mentions for Argan and 6 mentions for Great Lakes Dredge & Dock. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock's average media sentiment score of 1.32 beat Argan's score of 1.03 indicating that Great Lakes Dredge & Dock is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Argan	9 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk & volatility, GLDD or AGX?

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock has a beta of 1.34, indicating that its share price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Argan has a beta of 0.62, indicating that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of GLDD or AGX?

89.1% of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.4% of Argan shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.2% of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.7% of Argan shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has better valuation & earnings, GLDD or AGX?

Argan has higher revenue and earnings than Great Lakes Dredge & Dock. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Argan, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock	$830.57M	0.99	$57.26M	$1.05	11.50
Argan	$874.18M	3.65	$85.46M	$8.32	27.74

Do analysts prefer GLDD or AGX?

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock presently has a consensus price target of $14.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.89%. Argan has a consensus price target of $210.00, indicating a potential downside of 9.01%. Given Great Lakes Dredge & Dock's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Great Lakes Dredge & Dock is more favorable than Argan.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.50
Argan	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25

Is GLDD or AGX more profitable?

Argan has a net margin of 12.73% compared to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock's net margin of 8.63%. Argan's return on equity of 32.61% beat Great Lakes Dredge & Dock's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock	8.63%	15.61%	5.88%
Argan	12.73%	32.61%	14.29%

Is GLDD or AGX a better dividend stock?

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock pays an annual dividend of $0.0840 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Argan pays an annual dividend of $1.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock pays out 8.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Argan pays out 18.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Argan has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Argan beats Great Lakes Dredge & Dock on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.